This is a great piece I wrote with Dave Thomsen, EVP of Product at Wanderful Media. The Wanderful team is focused on connecting local retailers with consumers, and we see a huge opportunity for retailers to capitalize on areas that Amazon and other ecommerce companies are missing – local knowledge and connections, improved offline shopping experiences, and services that link offline and online shopping offerings.

New technologies are opening the door for local brick-and-mortar retailers to connect with customers, bridging online and offline shopping experiences to satisfy customer needs for immediacy, tangibility and casual discovery. The discovery of goods while flipping through an advertising circular in the newspaper or an array of products on a tablet, that results in a trip to the local store, and concludes with cashing in on an in-store promotion using a mobile phone, can create a shopping experience that is unmatched.

Retailers are ramping up efforts to turn the tide against Amazon and bring consumers back into stores, using customer experience and new technology as a weapon of persuasion. Retailers realize that if they can bring consumers into the store they have an opportunity to sell, not only a product, but also an experience. That emotional connection to a brand is where Big Retail and the industry are smartly hedging their bets.